Radio Chthulucene 87.9 FM

Marco Werman’s perspective and techniques were interesting to me, especially the ways different languages were incorporated into his radio broadcasts. I liked the way he translated as much as needed to get the point across, rather than always translating every word that people spoke. I’ve been thinking about how to incorporate languages other than English in my project, and whether to do so at all. I’ve studied some Hebrew, and I’m half Jewish, but my relationship to the language is still pretty alienated. I feel like I should know more Hebrew, and I should be closer to half of my family’s culture. 

It also stirred up a lot of emotions in me to hear Hebrew being spoken in one of Werman’s broadcasts — because of the language itself, and its meaning and lack thereof to me, but especially because of the context. I was sympathetic to the displaced Israelis, and disappointed and hurt when one of them showed no sympathy to the Palestinians. It’s a strange, difficult time to be American and Jewish (Jewish-ish?). Many politically progressive Jewish Americans, including my family, are both worried for their family and friends in Israel and angry at the human rights abuses perpetrated by the IDF. I’ve considered writing about this, and my confusing Jewish identity in general, but it’s hard to know what to say. 

I’m also thinking about incorporating sound and making my project digestible for listeners. I hate the sound of my own voice when it’s recorded, and that’s something I’ll need to get past to do this project. Werman’s suggestions about writing in a way that allows you to speak naturally were helpful. I’ve experimented with writing that’s similar to my speech patterns, using modern slang, etc, and maybe I’ll do that more in this project. I’ve never had to think very much about how my writing will sound out loud, so it’s a challenge, but hopefully one that helps me grow. I’m not sure I’ll be able to keep my writing entirely simple and easy to follow, but I’ll at least consider the auditory elements and the listener’s experience when writing.